This file must accompany this package to preserve the complete incommensurable informations !

the SCHRAMMS
- November 19, 1996 -
Kellerbühne, E-Werk,
Erlangen, Germany
** Audience-DAT master, MWM 0122 **
>> one of the greatest & largely ignored bands in the USA with Dave Schramm (ex-Yo La Tengo) & George Usher (ex-Beat Rodeo) - UNTRADED SO FAR << w/ samples






Preliminary remark 1:

It seems that Blue Rose Records' NEW HOTSHOT is "The Band of Heathens" (Austin, Tx).
So it's time for me to give all their crazy fans, the so-called "BOH-lunatics",
a brief glimpse way back when Massacre-Rec.-boss Torsten & his buddy Edgar started
Blue Rose, with all those fantastic (and now sadly forgotten ?) artists and bands...
all their beautiful (today mostly out-of-print) CDs and unforgettable concerts.

And in fact you're neither a lunatic nor a fan of Band Of Heathens...YOU'RE INVITED, TOO !!



Preliminary remark 2:

As far as I know NONE of this recording was ever used commercially.







This recording here comes directly from the "Men With Microphones" archive.
"MWM" started in the 70ies in South Germany with analog recording equipment,
and at least two of them are still recording sometimes (since the 90ies on DAT,
and, lazy as we are, since lately with small, handheld WAV-recorders on SD-cards).
The "MWM" startet as a project of friends sharing their hobbies together. But by
reason of jobs, partners and other interests the circle of all involved shrinked.






The Schramms are Serge Gainsbourg meets Chris Hillman.
No, that’s not right.
They are S. David Cohen meets Keith Richards. Hmm.
Emily Dickinson meets Rowdy Roddy Piper.........



Frustrated as fuck that one of the greatest bands in the USA is largely ignored by
the very same audience that oughta roll around and pray to 'em (we're talking about
you and your friends), we've decided to do our part and release a Schramms EP.
"Heart Not Within" is from the incredible new album Little Apocalypse (ESD),
"Sister Rose" and "What I Knew Today" are previously unreleased and unavailable elsewhere.

The Schramms, for those of you who are kinda slow about this stuff, are a NY based quartet
led by singer/guitarist/songwriting wiz Dave Schramm. Dave might be better known to you as
a former member of Yo La Tengo (he played guitar on Ride The Tiger, then guested on Fakebook
years later). His guitar playing is one of the only things that does not suck about the new
Freedy Johnston album. Adding to the supergroup-nobody-knows are drummer Ron Metz (a founding
member of Human Switchboard), bassist Al Greller (formerly of Peter Stampfel & The Bottlecaps
and Beat Rodeo) and keyboard player George Usher (formerly of Beat Rodeo, some Bongos lineup
we never saw, and his own House of Usher).




Melding pop, folk-rock, and alt-country sounds with quirky wit and a keen intelligence,
the Schramms were the brainchild of gifted guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Dave Schramm,
who debuted the group in 1987. Schramm, who had previously played with Human Switchboard
and Jon Klages, left Yo La Tengo in 1986, following the release of their debut album,
Ride the Tiger, and he soon began working up material with fellow Human Switchboard
alumnus Ron Metz and drums and bassist Terry Karydes, who had played in an embryonic
version of Yo La Tengo. After Karydes' bass was stolen, she moved over to keyboards,
and Mike Lewis, another former member of Yo La Tengo, took over on bass, with guitarist
Todd Novak and sax player Pete Linzell filling out the lineup. The band dubbed themselves
the Walking Wounded and lined up a short tour only to discover a group in California was
already using that name; as a joke, the band billed themselves as the Schramms for the
duration of the tour, only to discover the name stuck. They opted to keep the moniker.
The pocket-sized independent label OKra Records invited the Schramms to record an album,
and they released Walk to Delphi in 1989. However, OKra's distributor, Rough Trade, went
out of business a matter of weeks after the album came out, effectively stalling its
release in the States. To the band's good fortune, the Schramms developed a strong following
in Germany, and the European label Normal Records signed on to release the second Schramms
album, Rock, Paper, Scissors, Dynamite, in 1992. By this time, Lewis, Novak, and Linzell
had bowed out of the band; Al Greller signed on as the new bassist, and Schramm opted to
go on without a sax or second guitarist. In 1993, Karydes also left the band, with
George Usher taking over on keyboards; this edition of the Schramms recorded two albums,
1994's Little Apocalypse and 1996's Dizzy Spell. (Little Apocalypse was released in the
United States by East Side Digital, who the following year reissued Walk to Delphi and
gave Rock, Paper, Scissors, Dynamite its belated American debut; Dizzy Spell was distributed
by the fledgling alt-country label Checkered Past.) In 2000, the Schramms returned to the
recording studio with another new lineup -- Andy Burton joined as keyboard player after the
departure of Usher, and a second guitarist, Jon Graboff, who had often guested with the group,
signed on full-time. 100 Questions was the Schramms's first album which was not self-produced;
J.D. Foster oversaw the sessions, and Syd Straw, Richard Buckner, and Jeb Loy Nichols
contributed guest vocals.
- Mark Deming, All Music Guide




The first anybody heard from Dave Schramm may have been Yo La Tengo's first album
Ride The Tiger, though he had played and recorded before that with other folks like
The Human Switchboard (where he first teamed up with drummer Ron Metz), Jon Klages
(of The Individuals), and the like. After Ride The Tiger, Dave left to form his own
band with the aforementioned Ron Metz, and they played their first gig billed as
The Schramms kind of as a joke. The name stuck.
The original band had Metz on drums, a founding member of critic's darlings The
Human Switchboard, and bassist Terry Karydes, who had played with a mysterious combo
called Georgia and Those Guys. Then some creep popped the trunk on a friend's car and
stole Terry's Danelectro, so she switched to playing organ. Mike Lewis, formerly of
Yo La Tengo, took over on bass. Add guitarist Todd Novak and Vice Royal Pete Linzell
on sax and you have the band that started to record their first album, Walk To Delphi,
in 1989. Mike soon left to make designer cold medications, and Todd and Pete departed
to ride the wild surf. Al Greller, who had been spotted playing in The Tall Lonesome
Pines, joined to play bass. This is the lineup that finished Walk to Delphi.
OKra/Rough Trade released it in early 1990 to great reviews. Within weeks however,
Rough Trade US went out of business. There is no proven connection between these two events.

The band recorded their second album called Rock, Paper, Scissors, Dynamite, released
in 1992, at first only available in Europe on NORMAL Records. It was finally re-released
in the US by ESD in 1995. The quartet toured Europe in the summer of 1992.

Terry left in 1993 to design books, and George Usher stepped in, bringing with him a
certain swagger and an ear for a fine pop melody. Three years later he stepped out again
to devote all his time and energy to his own band. While he was around, the band made
two records. In 1994 they came out with Little Apocalypse, once again for NORMAL Records.
Then in 1996 Dizzy Spell was released, this time with the new label Blue Rose Records.

When George left after Dizzy Spell the band welcomed two new members. Andy Burton on
keyboards and Jon Graboff on guitar. Jon was not new to the band. He had done a lot of
live shows with them after the first record. Then played mandolin on their second album
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Dynamite and, in his other life as a photographer, took the first
published photos of the group. In the autumn of 1998 Dave recorded his second solo
acoustic album, called Hammer and Nails. He and Jeb Loy Nichols toured Europe when it
was released in early 1999. Then it was time for the band to record a new album, their
fifth, released in the spring of 2000 on Blue Rose Records. The album is called
100 Questions and was produced by J.D. Foster. J.D.'s most recent work includes the
last two albums by Richard Buckner and Marc Ribot. On 100 Questions the band was joined
by some other friends as well - Richard Buckner, Jeb Loy Nichols and Syd Straw.

Each of the members of The Schramms has made music for other folks as well. Dave has
recorded with Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey (Mavericks, It's Alright, Fireworks),
Kate Jacobs (all), Myra Holder (Four Mile Road), The Replacements (All Shook Down),
Yo La Tengo (Ride the Tiger as a member of the band, Fakebook), Freedy Johnston
(Can You Fly, This Perfect World, Never Home), Soul Asylum (Let Your Dim Light Shine),
Richard Buckner (Since), Whiskeytown, Will Rigby, Glenn Morrow, Wagon, Hank McCoy and
the Dead Ringers and others. A founding member of The Human Switchboard, Ron played
and recorded with the various solo efforts of his former bandmates, Bob Pfeifer's
album After Words, and Myrna Marcarian's Human Touch. Ron was the drummer on the
Dos Dragsters contribution to the Brian Wilson Tribute album, and appeared on the
OKra All-Stars version of Purple Rain.He later played on the European tour with those
OKra All-Stars. Al had been playing with Peter Stampfel and the Bottlecaps before he
joined The Schramms, and is on their latest and greatest album, due out next year on
Rounder. He also held down the fort for the Tall Lonesome Pines, Beat Rodeo,
Paul Presti (of the Unholy Modal Rounders), The Tractors, Riff Doctors, and a
singing plumber. Al played the bass on Yo La Tengo's Fakebook album. Jon has played
with Freedy Johnston, Amy Rigby and Will Rigby, Beat Rodeo, Steve Almaas, and P.F. Sloan.
Andy has played with Grace Pool, Tiny Lights, Freedy Johnston, Health and Happiness Show,
and Colin Blunstone.




Shaped from former members of Yo La Tengo, The Human Switchboard and Peter Stanfel's
Bottlecaps, The Schramms have been a Hoboken and New York fixture since 1985.
Finding a place in the sun both in the U.S. and in Europe, they have become one of
rock's most respected and talented bands.
Dave Schramm can also be heard as a featured guitarist on current works by Richard
Buckner, Freedy Johnston, Soul Asylum, The Replacements and Whiskeytown.
Album number four by the Schramms blends more rock and pop into their already well
defined folk and poetry trademark sound.
Starting with the melodic Seven Horses, the band takes the listener on a dare devil
trip from the beautiful "Dizzy Spell" and to the emotional "Tell Me Again and Again"
to the heavy "Wild Innocence" and back around to the bombastic "Heal Me Now" and
settles down to the simple and quiet "If I Were".
With their fourth album, Dizzy Spell, they move towards the Song itself.
Using all of the powers of the songwriter's art, they wrap a healing bandage of
sound around your soul.
- Ralf Schlüter, ROLLING STONE Germany


If ever there was a band whose albums demanded more than a single listen, it's the
Schramms. On first spin, Dizzy Spell sounds like a pleasant, well-crafted bit of
folk-leaning pop; play it a few more times, let it sink in, and you'll find it's a
remarkably intelligent, expressive, and compelling album that becomes more satisfying
each time out. Dave Schramm was not blessed with the finest voice of his generation,
but give his craggy, conversational timbre a chance to register and you'll be amazed
at its range of nuances, and his lyrics manage to be both witty and genuinely poetic
without sinking into pretension. More importantly, he's a superb guitarist who knows
when to gently support a song and when to reel off a solo that's full of dexterity
and fire. And with George Usher on keyboards, Al Greller on bass, and Ron Metz on drums,
Schramm has a band that's solid and expressive but knows their first responsibility is
to serve the song. And on Dizzy Spell, the Schramms offer up a dozen songs well worth
hearing, particularly the bizarre suburban romance of "Wild Season," the remembrance
of lost love of "Tell Me Again and Again," and the wistful, reflective title cut.
Evocative, compelling, and seasoned with plenty of great guitar work, Dizzy Spell is a
superb, criminally overlooked album that was one of the most pleasurable releases of 1998.
- Mark Deming


INTRO
Im Zeitalter des Crossovers wirft dieses amerikanische Quintett mit Vehemenz einige
musikalische Errungenschaften seines Heimatlandes in einen Topf und extrahiert eine Mischung
aus Funk, Rock, R'n'B und Pop, die wohl am ehesten mit jener der RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
verglichen werden könnte - ohne allerdings auch nur annähernd deren abgedrehte Originalität
zu erreichen. DIZZY SPELL geben sich weitaus versöhnlicher, produzieren perfekte, moderne Liveclub-Musik, die sich um Ehrlichkeit und größtmögliche Vielfalt bemüht und ihre nach-
denklichen, zuweilen gar dunklen Untertöne in leicht erkennbaren US-Alternative-Arrangement-
linien unterbringt. "It's an eclectic album for many tastes", läßt das Info ganz richtig
wissen. Und diese Geschmäcker liegen deutlich auf der anderen Seite des großen Teiches.
Wer also seine CD-Sammlung gerne mit amerikanischen Alternativen auffüllt, dürfte bei
"Dreamdammit!" auf ein interessantes Objekt stoßen.
Ralf Jesek - Intro - Musik & so


Audio
Neo-Folk, Alternative Country... wie nennt man diesen Stil bloß? Sicher ist nur eins:
Die Songs der Subkultur-Helden wirken friedlich und vertraut.


Stereoplay
Dave Schramm und seine Mannen aus Hoboken/New Jersey bleiben ihrer eigenwilligen Mischung
aus Country, Folk und Rock auch auf "Dizzy Spell" treu. Atmosphärisch dicht sind ihre apokalyptisch-morbiden Phantasien gewirkt, bei denen selbst die Crash Test Dummies noch
dazulernen könnten ("Wild Season"). An grellen Klangfarben ("Wild Innocence") und teuflisch
schönen Hammond-Abgründen ("In Hell's Despite") vorbei führt der Weg bis zum folkig-melodischen
Finale "If I Were To Die Today": ein starkes Stück "New Country", nicht immer von dieser Welt.




About this recording:

How often have you met a musician with an unique voice AND great songs ?

QUITE OFTEN...

How often have you met a musician, writing incredible lyrics
somewhere between Edgar Allan Poe and Monty Python ?

A FEW...

How often have you met a musician with a weird sense of humor ?

EVERY NOW AND THEN...

How often have you met a musician, getting his inspiration
from Emily Dickinson's or Charles Baudelaire's poems ?

I MET MUSICIANS, BUT WHAT THE F*** IS A POEM ??
AND WHO IS THIS DICKINSON OR THIS BAUDELAIRE ???


I think THAT'S ENOUGH to catch your interest...NOW:


The above-mentioned musician is Dave Schramm, for sure one of the
nicest persons in the whole music business (minimum in the 90ies...).
I loved their previous three albums and could not await their first
release on Blue Rose Records, "Dizzy Spell" (BLU CD0038) in mid-1996.
And the additional surprise was BLU CD0039: a solo-album by Schramm's
keyboard-, guitarplayer and co-writer George Usher, "Miracle School".
Do not hesitate, if you find one of those albums - BUY THEM !

As additional promotion The Schramms toured Europe for four weeks during
November 1996 (find the dates here: http://www.theschramms.com/pregigs.html),
sometimes they had local support acts, and two times they opened for Townes
Van Zandt (Berlin and München). They arrived quite late at E-Werk (although
it's just a two-hour-drive from Munich...), so the soundcheck was extremely
short and ended on the fly during the first two songs...all on tape...

"Kellerbühne" (cellar stage) is the smallest of four venues at the E-Werk,
three of them quite regularly used for concerts, and is provided with a
(depending, you know it, it's always the same...on the backline used, other
technical issues & the skills of the engineer) fantastic sounding PA-system.
More technical informations: http://www.e-werk.de/pdf/KB.pdf

Visitors capacity is either 110 seated or up to more than 200 standing. The
attendance at this concert was something around 80 people, a small attentive
and at the end rowdy crowd...and the band behaved very friendly and mindful
before and after their show, fulfilling all audience wishes like autographs,
photos and small talks. And they turned out as not so talkative onstage,
allowing their music and lyrics to do the talking for them...

They performed, with an incredible joy of playing, a wide selection of their songs,
and also the covers - Peter Blegvad/Andy Partridge, Lucinda Williams, and finally
David Blue - showed their exceptional taste, and they changed their setlist every night.


So this concert ended high in my personal TOP 10 concerts of 1996 (and please remember:
Neil Young & Crazy Horse toured and played (not just IMHO...) their most inspired concerts
over here since the legendary 1976 European tour...and we've seen quite a few of them...).



FOR THE FIRST TIME OUT OF OUR ARCHIVE,
COMPLETELY UNTRADED, SLIGHTLY MASTERED,
AND OTHERWISE UNALTERED - PLEASE ENJOY!





the SCHRAMMS

Kellerbühne, E-Werk,
Erlangen, Germany
November 19, 1996



"Kellerbühne" (cellar stage) is the smallest
of four venues at the E-Werk in Erlangen.
Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in northern Bavaria, Germany.
It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large
tributary, the Untere Schwabach - about 20 kilometers north of Nuremberg,
and has a population of more than 105.000 citizens (in 2008).

Erlangen is today dominated by the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and
the numerous branch offices of Siemens AG, as well as a large Institute
of the Fraunhofer Society. An event that still influences the city was the
settlement of Huguenots after the withdrawal of the Edict of Nantes in 1685.

The Bergkirchweih is an annual beer festival, similar to the Oktoberfest in
Munich but smaller in scope, and therefore more intimate. It takes place during
the twelve days before and after Pentecost, under the spring trees of the "Berg"
a small craggy, wooded hill, with old caves(cellars) owned by local breweries.
Around the door of the keller, the faithful of each brewery has its faithful
drinkers, liter sized clay "krugs" in hand, at the reserved tables of wood,
seating perhaps 10 or 20 friends. The Bier Fest draws more than one million
visitors each year. There are carnival rides if high tech quality, food stalls
of every imaginable Franken dish, from bratwurst to roast-suckling pig, from
cinnamon "burnt almonds" to giant chewy pretzels.
It is commonly known by local residents as the "Berchkärwa" (pronounced
"bairch'-care-va") or simply the "Berch", as in "Gehma auf'm Berch?"
("Let's go to the mountain?").
This is outdoor event, packed with Franconians in various states of enjoyment
and practically unknown by tourists.






lineage:

recorded by lonetaper, audience to DAT

OKM II K professional, Studio Version > terminal voltage adapter Soundman A3 (impact noise
setting on "linear", attenuation -20 dB) > 'Line In' portable Sony TCD-D7 (16 bit, SP 48 kHz) >
DAT (Maxell HS-4/90s, Helical-Scan 4mm Data Cartridge, 90 meter tape)

DAT (master) > Tascam DA-20 II, S/P-DIF out > Digital Cable (coax) > > Behringer Ultramatch SRC 2000
(Sample Rate Converter & Jitter Remover) > Digital Cable (coax) > Soundcard, S/P-DIF in > CD Wave (recording) > Harddisc >
> lonetaper's secret box of miracles > CD Wave (tracking) > Traders Little Helper (SB aligned/level 6) > FLAC > DIME




PLEASE HELP me with the correct title of the instrumental keyboard interlude
(CD 2, track09), it's from a movie...i know it definitely, BUT i'm quite old...
calrust, think this is your turn...again...



the complete concert:

all songs by Dave Schramm unless otherwise specified

CD 1 (60:59.34 mins)

1-01. the complete, ultra-short soundcheck & a quick "Hi there"-intro by Dave 1:25.32
1-02. Seven Horses 3:40.56
1-03. -> Home 3:03.42
1-04. -> Wild Season 3:58.63
1-05. ...thanks a lot/tuning... 0:51.32
1-06. Tell Me Again and Again 4:43.38
1-07. ...the next song is NOT a folk song... 0:32.64
1-08. Wild Innocence 4:49.30
1-09. ...that was a nifty trick/tuning... 0:31.54
1-10. Here And There 3:40.09
1-11. ...George changes to guitar on this one... 0:24.25
1-12. She Gets the Message 5:08.71
1-13. ...2000 light beers from home... 0:49.68
1-14. Dizzy Spell 3:14.70
1-15. ...here's a little older one... 0:33.62
1-16. I Saw Him Fall 3:08.36
1-17. In Hell's Despite 4:36.40
1-18. Little Apocalypse 5:01.39
1-19. -> Side Of The Road 5:07.02
1-20. A Woman's Name 4:36.64
1-21. ...George has an album of his own out.... 0:59.37

CD 2 (53:43.23 mins)

2-01. Rogue's Gallery 4:58.44
2-02. Her Darkness 3:25.40
2-03. The Chill 5:25.69
2-04. ...tuning/there you are... 0:41.27
2-05. Heart Not Within 3:33.27
2-06. Heal Me Now 5:00.74
2-07. ...thanks a whole lot/crowd... 0:52.05

encore 1:
2-08. ...a quiet & slow or loud & fast one ? 0:30.25
2-09. keyboard interlude (instrumental) 0:46.11
2-10. Sister Rose 4:00.07
2-11. -> The Way Some People Die 3:25.40
2-12. ...thanks/tuning... 0:34.42
2-13. What I Knew Today 3:04.27
2-14. -> Walk To Delphi 3:11.04
2-15. ...thanks a whole lot/wild crowd... 1:20.29

encore 2:
2-16. ...tuning... 0:56.60
2-17. If I Were 3:02.44
2-18. Out Of The Earth 2:54.51
2-19. ...one more... 0:31.66
2-20. It's Not What She Wants 4:43.50
2-21. ...thank you/final crowd... 0:43.31


total: 60:59.34 + 53:43.23 = 114:42.57 mins



musicians:

Dave Schramm - vocals, guitar
George Usher - keyboards, guitar, additional vocals
Al Greller - bass
Ron Metz - drums, percussion


and, not to forget:

My friend Anthony was sound engineer that night (he did a mighty fine job - as usual...)



notes:

1-03. Home
Another inspiration from Dickinson. This lyric flowed out of that one line from her poem...
'If my coming were my will'..." - Dave

1-20. A Woman's Name
first verse from a poem by Emily Dickinson, additional lyrics by Dave Schramm
"Of course it's easy to see that the first verse works much better in it's original form,
but it doesn't make the music very happy. So hopefully these adulterations can be forgiven
for the greater good of the song... " - Dave

2-14. Walk To Delphi
words and music by Dave Schramm (The lyric to this song was inspired by the first line of
a poem by Emily Dickinson - "I shall know why...")

2-18. Out Of The Earth
lyric from the poem "le Squellette Laboureur" by Charles Baudelaire, from "Selected Flowers
Of Evil", translated by Yvor Winters, music by Dave Schramm...






Please support the artists, visit their concerts and BUY their CDs...

Check out their websites:

http://www.theschramms.com/
http://www.myspace.com/theschramms
http://www.myspace.com/daveschramm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Schramm_(musician)

http://www.georgeusher.com/
http://www.georgeusher.com/

http://www.bluerose-records.de/main.asp?mode=artist&id=3682




THIS TORRENT IS DEDICATED TO DAVE, GEORGE, AL & RON...
VERY SPECIAL THANKS to Erika, Tony, Michael, Holger,
Berndt, the cook & all others at E-Werk (back then...)


Big thanks to my wife, Mrs. Leo, for supporting
and taking an active part in all my crazyness...


No animals were harmed in the making of this
recording or during the mastering and transfer.





My dear buddy Ken TheCommish usually writes (and hey, he's damn right):
If you decide to download this show, won't you please consider posting a comment
on the show's board? It only takes a moment, and believe me, it takes A LOT longer
to prepare/upload a show for others to enjoy than it does to download and run...




You know, our friend Dave T says: "There's always more to come..."
And i'll promise you to keep MY tapes coming...

Leo



====================================================================================
Absolutely no selling! Do not alter (remix/remaster etc...) this recording in any way, repost
it to other sites or even reseed it here on DIME without my permission - please feel free to
ask me priorly. DON'T convert it to mp3 or other lossy formats except for your own personal use.
And PLEASE do not share the content via rapidshare, mega-upload or similiar sites...by no means!
====================================================================================


Recorded, mastered, transferred & finally uploaded by lonetaper on Dime, May 20, 2009. This is "MWM 0122"





This file must accompany this package to preserve the complete incommensurable informations !